Trial Postponed For Man Accused Of Killing 15-Year-Old

Police: Dante Parrish Sexually Assaulted, Killed Teen

Jury selection was expected but eventually postponed Monday in the trial of a convicted murderer who's accused of sexually assaulting and killing a 15-year-old boy.

Dante Parrish, 35, is accused of killing Jason Mattison and then stuffing his body in the closet of his aunt's home in November 2009.

The trial was slated to begin Monday but instead was postponed. A new date hasn't been established yet.

Police said Parrish confessed to killing the boy.

The family told 11 News at the time of the slaying that Parrish was a friend and that they knew he was a convicted murderer but never thought he'd do something like that to a friend.

Investigators have never explained what prompted Parrish to allegedly attack the teen.

Police said Parrish gagged Mattison with a pillowcase and stabbed him in the neck and head with a box cutter.

Parrish was convicted in 1999 of killing a drug dealer, but he was granted a new trial in 2008 due to a technicality, and prosecutors said they didn't have enough evidence to retry him because the weapon used in the slaying was no longer in evidence storage. Officials said witnesses also recanted their statements.

Parrish eventually accepted a plea agreement and was released from jail months before Mattison was killed.